Power and telecommunications grids are placed underground on Trần Hưng Đạo Street in HCM City’s District 5. — Photo baotintuc.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City Power Corporation (EVNHCMC) said that it has placed 675km of medium-voltage grids, 1,160km of low-voltage grids and 34.5km of power grids underground over the past five years.

The five-year plan targets burying 650km of medium-voltage grids, 1,150km of low-voltage grids and 11km of 110kV power grids.

The rate of medium-voltage grids in the city underground accounts for 40 per cent. It has reached 98 per cent in districts 1 and 3, and about 60 per cent in districts of 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, Phú Nhuận, Bình Thành, Tân Bình, Tân Phú and Gò Vấp.

EVNHCMC has finished the work on most main streets in the city center.

Electrical grids and telecommunications cables of transport projects have also been buried underground. 

The corporation has worked with local authorities to explain the benefits of the plan to achieve consensus among residents about the work.

Its plan on burying all power and telecommunications cables in the city underground by 2020 was approved in 2011, with an estimated cost of VNĐ14 trillion (US$607 million).

The removal of tangled overhead electrical grids and telecommunications cables is expected to improve the appearance of the city. Underground power lines are safer, more stable, and easier to maintain. They are also less vulnerable to lightning strikes or collapse. — VNS